BofA Chief Moynihan Faces Shareholder Ire as Protests Swirl

Bank of America Corp., the second- biggest U.S. lender, is following a “disciplined” strategy to rebuild, Chief Executive Officer Brian T. Moynihan said as protests swirled inside and outside the firm’s annual meeting.

Moynihan presided as shareholders pressed him on complaints ranging from mortgage practices and foreclosures to customer service and political contributions. One attendee at the headquarters in Charlotte, North Carolina, lamented the lost value of his shares and referred to the bank as “a felon.”

“We abide by the law every day,” Moynihan said, adding that managers are cleaning up the bank’s practices and that 50,000 employees are giving borrowers “every chance” to get mortgage modifications. “I think we’re doing everything we can,” he said.

Investors and protesters from San Francisco to London have used shareholder meetings this year to denounce financial firms for making shoddy loans and overpaying executives. Bank of America’s stock has lost almost half its value since the start of 2010, when Moynihan was named CEO.

Much of the criticism stems from Bank of America’s 2008 takeover of Countrywide Financial Corp. The subprime lender has been blamed by lawmakers for fueling the housing collapse, by regulators for sloppy and discriminatory lending and by investors for driving more than $40 billion of costs tied to soured mortgages and improper foreclosures.

Mortgage Servicing

At least three speakers at the meeting told Moynihan that the bank has failed to improve mortgage servicing after years of complaints that employees gave wrong information, didn’t return phone calls and repeatedly lost paperwork.

“You’ve got to do something about your mortgage servicing,” one speaker told Moynihan. The CEO told borrowers in the hall and “everyone out there” that he personally pledged the bank would work with them. “You can call us and we will figure it out,” he said, eliciting laughter in the audience as he encouraged them to call a toll-free number. Moynihan said a million modifications have been completed, “and I don’t think we could have done that without being competent.”

Moynihan fielded repeated pleas to halt funding for coal mining, including techniques that involve removing entire mountaintops because of the effect on communities, health and the environment, and accusations that the bank has ducked U.S. taxes. The CEO said coal funding would be reviewed and that the company has paid billions of dollars in taxes.

Marching on BofA

Several hundred protesters in three separate marches converged on Bank of America’s headquarters, decrying foreclosure practices and what they called corporate greed.

Flanked by police, marchers chanted, banged on drums and carried banners as a mock boxing match was staged between a Moynihan likeness and a representative of the “99 percent” of people who aren’t in the wealthiest tier of Americans, meant to highlight income inequality. The Charlotte Observer reported at least four arrests.

Metal barricades kept protesters away from the building entrance. A woman with one arm in a sling holding a placard that said, “Bank of America stole $500,000 from me” was asked to give up her sign before going in the auditorium.

Timers With Chimes

Inside, employees wore stickers identifying them as shareholders rather than staff members. Moynihan set a time limit on individual comments and questions with a timer and a chime, and he banned the use of recorders and electronic devices.

Charlotte city managers said last month that Bank of America’s meeting is an “extraordinary event” that merits special restrictions on people near the site to prevent violence, according to the Charlotte Business Journal.

When a shareholder complained about the level of security, Moynihan said the rules and measures were meant to protect everyone. “I don’t feel threatened at all,” he said.

The Charlotte ordinance, drawn up for the Democratic National Convention later in the year, gave police broader powers to search individuals, outlawing items including permanent markers, lumber, pepper spray and padlocks. The Observer reported on its website that police didn’t use authority they had been granted to search backpacks and other containers.

Members of Occupy Wall Street are among groups seeking to revive last year’s protests against the nation’s biggest banks for their role in causing the financial crisis and gaps between the incomes of the nation’s richest and poorest citizens.

Shareholders Rebel

Last month, more than 500 people gathered at Wells Fargo & Co.’s San Francisco headquarters to disrupt the firm’s annual meeting. About two dozen were arrested as protesters chained themselves together to block an entrance to where the meeting was held, and police helped clear a path for shareholders.

In New York, Citigroup Inc. shareholders rejected the firm’s executive-pay plan on April 16, the first time that’s happened among the six largest U.S. banks. Directors awarded Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit, 55, about $15 million for 2011 plus a multiyear retention package that may be worth $40 million. While the bank promised to meet shareholders to consider changes, no revisions have been announced.

Moynihan, 52, was awarded a $7 million pay package for last year, with shareholders approving the compensation plan in an advisory vote today with 92 percent of the ballots, according to a preliminary tally. Citigroup and Bank of America accepted $45 billion each from U.S. taxpayers to help them survive the financial crisis. The firms have since repaid the bailouts.

In Europe, Andrew Moss quit as CEO of Aviva Plc, the second-biggest U.K. insurer, after investors voted down the compensation plan, and Barclays Plc chief Robert Diamond was heckled over pay at the annual meeting. Investors also staged protests at UBS AG and Inmarsat Plc for failing to keep compensation in line with stock performance.